


A Tale Left Untold

by DrJay30_exe



Series: Small Number of Chapters [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-09 23:03:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19895821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrJay30_exe/pseuds/DrJay30_exe
Summary: "I was supposed to protect her, I was supposed to be there for her. I failed her once, this time I promise, I will not let you down.





	A Tale Left Untold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Contains Spoilers for RWBY Volume 6.

"Come on, hurry up!" Two children raced around a garden guarded by high stone walls.

"Slow down!" giggled a girl with pale blonde hair and gentle green eyes, chasing after her friend.

"You're too slow!" replied her red-eyed friend, her long dark hair billowing behind her.

They chased each other around a large tree with beautiful multi-color leaves, giggling with glee. Not far from the playing children stood three adults watching them with smiles. The King, the Queen and the head of the royal guard stood watching the children play.

"They sure are lively today." said the Queen. She stood dressed in her purple robes, laced with gold. Her green eyes watched the children fondly and a soft smile rested upon her face. A golden crown adorned with gems of various colors sat atop her head of flowing blonde hair.

"Indeed they are. As they should be, we stand in a time of peace after all." replied the King, adorned in his silver armor with golden engraving. Snow white hair joined with a full beard that framed his kind face. A crown matching that of his wife tied together with his ensemble.

Standing stoic next to them was the Head of the royal guard. He wore armor similar to the Kings except for the gold engraving. A sword hung at his side and a shield was strapped to his back. He held his helmet under his arm and remained as solid as a wall while he watched his daughter playing with the princess.

The children stopped by the tree. They sat down at the base of the tree.

"We always have so much fun together Ashely." said the blonde princess. "I hope it never stops."

"Don't worry we'll be friends forever Salem, I promise that you will always be happy."

* * *

Three years passed since then. The neighboring kingdoms declared war against each other. The head of the royal guard started training his daughter to be better able to protect princess Salem from the dangers outside their kingdom. With her proficiency in magic, she was able to learn new ways in combat and turn taught Salem many of her techniques.

The King viewed her as being one of his most valued soldiers and the Queen viewed her as Salem's most trusted friend.

With the hearts combined their kingdom stood string against all the attacks.

However, that would all change on one fateful day.

* * *

It was a day of sorrow for the kingdom. The Queen had died and the head of the royal guard had given his life to make sure that the murderer did not leave with their life.

That day the king changed. The once kind and gentle king became cold and ruthless. To protect his daughter he locked her away in a tower, forbidding her from having contact with the outside world.

Ashely was set as her guard to protect her from any who would seek out the princess.

The King would not tolerate failure all the guards who failed him were put to death.

All, except Ashely.

Tales spread throughout the lands of Salem's tower, and all the warriors who came to take her away fell to Ashely's blade.

She served her king without question. Serving the King meant keeping Salem safe. And she would protect Salem even if it killed her.

Countless warriors came to the tower. Countless weapons littered the land before the tower. No matter how strong the warrior was, no matter how quick or how agile, none could defeat the towers guardian.

And for the longest time, Salem would stay in her tower, kept prisoner by her father and guarded by the person she trusted most.

To Ashely, she was doing what was right, until one day she saw the look on Salem's face. Salem looked miserable. It was then that she realized what she had been doing, she broke her promise.

* * *

One day, a warrior came to the tower. He was different from the others. He came not seeking the prize of the princess, but to free her from the tower. This warrior's name was Ozma.

Ozma walked through the tower knowing that he would give his life to complete his mission.

When he came face to face with the towers guardian, he saw not a terrifying creature or a towering warrior. He saw a girl; her once beautiful, dark hair had turned almost ashen in color. Her once vibrant red eyes had grown dull and her face looked tired and aged.

For the first time on his mission, Ozma hesitated.

He could see why so many others lost to the guardian. She was willing to give her all to defend the princess within the tower.

Ozma readied his staff and channeled his magic into it.

Ashely drew her sword and flames crept from the hilt and ignited along the blade. She readied herself for battle.

"I'm sorry," she said as she charged towards Ozma. Their battle was fierce and Ozma was beginning to lose ground. In a desperate last move, he put all his energy into one final attack.

Instead of blocking it, as she easily could have, Ashely lowered her sword and took the attack head-on.

Her sword clattered to the ground.

The guardian of the tower had fallen.

Ozma stood up and made his way over to her.

"You fought honorably guardian." said the solemn victor.

"Please...please keep her safe. Keep her happy." whispered the fallen guardian.

"I will," said Ozma.

And so the guardian faded having failed her duty but saved her friend.

That day Salem left the tower with her savior, leaving behind her gilded cage and the friend who had kept her guarded for all these years.

And so her guardian left for the afterlife with peace in her mind that her friend would be happy and safe.

* * *

That was until she was called forth by the gods of Light and Darkness.

"Guardian of the tower, you have been called to aid us with an important matter." said the elder brother of light, his antlers pointing to the sky.

"That petulant brat has been causing trouble for quite some time." said the younger brother, his body giving off an aura of darkness and his horns curled backward.

Ashely was confused as to who they could be referring to and how she had any connection to them.

"Excuse me your reverences but what does this have to do with Me." replied the former guardian.

"Your friend Salem has caused much trouble for the world." said the eldest.

"To put it lightly." interjected the youngest.

"She has caused the fall of mankind."

Ashely's eyes widened at hearing this. There was no way Salem could have done this. What of the warrior who she had trusted to keep Salem safe.

"What about the warrior that saved her?" she asked to the deities.

"He perished long ago. She tried to have him returned to the land of the living and tried to use us against each other. To try and stop her we gave him the ability to return to life, but the Salem you once knew has changed, she has been corrupted...and she killed him." the eldest said in a gentle tone.

Squashing down the pang of jealousy she felt at hearing whom Salem had chosen to revive; Ashely asked the gods what they expected her to do.

She knew that they would not call her here for nothing. She had learned that from her time serving the king.

"We want you to save Salem." said the younger brother.

"How am I supposed to do that? From what you've told me, Salem is gone."

"There is a way to bring her back. We will grant you two relics that will help you accomplish it."

The brothers held out their hands, the golden dust that hung in the air around the god of light collected and started to form a rope.

From the elder brother's hand emerged a weapon. It was unlike any other weapon she had seen before; the closest comparison she could make was that it looked like a crossbow.

"We grant you the Relic of Truth." said the god of light as he handed her the rope.

"And the Relic of Purity." continued the god of darkness.

"Thank you. I promise that I will not fail in my mission." the former guardian bowed her head.

"Before you leave, the world has changed from the one you once knew." said the elder brother as he pressed to fingers to her forehead. A bright light exploded and she disappeared.

"May your quest be successful, Ashely Fall."

.

.

.

Ashely shot awake and noticed she was in a bed. Her head was throbbing as images flashed in her mind. She saw Salem, Ozma's death, her trying to bring him back, the gods cursing her, her uniting humanity and trying to fight the gods...and the extermination of humanity.

She also saw flashes of the current world she was in: the Faunus being oppressed, people using Dust in response to there being no magic and the assault of the Grimm. She also saw what her relics could do.

She put on her new clothes grabbed the relics and went to look for Salem. She didn't know where to start but she was going to give it her all.

* * *

Team RWBY, along with Qrow, Ozpin/Oscar and an elderly woman named Maria Calavera, ventured into the Mistralian wilderness after being separated from team JNR when the train separated. The group was silent after discovering that they were being lied to by Ozpin.

"I can't believe you've been lying to us all this time!" exclaimed Yang.

"Telling us that we can beat Salem, letting us reach this far. When were you going to tell us?"

Before Ozpin could respond, a voice interrupted him.

"You can't beat Salem." said an unseen voice.

Jumping down from a tree, Ashely landed making a small crater in the snow.

She had barely changed from the person she once was. Her ashen black hair was now white as snow, but otherwise, she looked the same, her pale skin still looked flawless and her crimson eyes shone brighter than ever.

Her outfit had changed as well. Instead of her suit of armor, she now wore a cowboy-style outfit and carried a black and gold rifle. Snow collected on the lip of her hat as the former guardian stood before the travelers.

"Ozma," she said glancing towards the shared body of Oscar.

"Don't you know that it's bad manners to break a promise?"

She aimed her rifle at Oscar's head.

"I entrusted you to keep her safe, to keep her happy. From what I've heard, because of you, she became a monster. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Oscar's eyes flashed gold as Ozpin took control of their shared body.

"It's not possible. How are you alive? I saw you die myself." he almost yelled in shock.

"I could ask the same of you. But it's pointless to ask that. I was brought back to find Salem. And for quite a while I thought that finding you would be the key." the former guardian narrowed her eyes at the former headmaster.

"But then I found out that you two got separated long ago and I needed to figure out another plan."

She lowered her rifle and started to walk away.

"I'm going to save Salem from what she's become." She turned once to give the team a bone-chilling glare.

"And if you try to get in my way, I will not hesitate to kill any of you. I failed Salem once before and now I won't let anyone stop me from saving her. Not even having Summer's daughter will stop me."

And with that, she walked away into the snow.


End file.
